Adequate or appropriate, sufficient or suitable? Adequate is a particularly tricky Tricky Word, because it is so close in meaning to the Slovak "adekvátne", but still
there is a subtle difference. As usual, in practice it depends on exactly what you are talking about. If we are talking about a pullover, it is the same difference as between the questions "Is it
the right style?" (Slovak "adekvátny") and "Is it big enough?" (English "adequate").
If we consider practical measures to combat the economic crisis, then both words might be relevant - "appropriate" meaning "patričné" or "adequate" meaning
"dostatočné" - because the measures have to be sufficient as well as suitable to have the desired effect. But sometimes there is a significant difference between "fitting" and "enough", as in
"adekvátna odpoveď", which surely means an appropriate answer which fits or suits the question, not one which is just adequate - long enough to make everyone think it's good.
Empty